Chris Bosh and teammates defend his 3-point shots

Heat center will continue to take open shots no matter where they're from

June 7, 2013|By Harvey Fialkov, Sun Sentinel

MIAMI — The Chris Bosh bashers came out of the woodwork after he went 0-for-4 from 3-point territory, including a critical wide-open miss from the wing with a minute left that would've sliced the Spurs' lead to one point in what became a 92-88 Game 1 loss Thursday.

That's why the bulk of Friday afternoon's media session was dedicated to listening to Bosh, his protective teammates and coach defending the 6-foot-10 center's shot selection.

"Look, we're not going to overreact to those misses,'' coach Erik Spoelstra said. "He was wide open. He hit some big ones already. We do need to commit to getting to some second situations, getting the ball to the weak side.

"If he makes one of those, everybody's perspective is different.''

It's obviously part of Spurs coach Gregg Popovich's defensive strategy to pack the paint to curtail drives by LeBron James and Dwyane Wade, while closing in on Miami's successful 3-point shooters such as Ray Allen and Mike Miller, who were on the floor during crunch time.

That has to leave someone open on the perimeter, specifically Bosh, who had 3-point success in last year's playoffs (7-of-13) and this year (15-of-35), but is a mediocre 28.8 percent over his 10-year career.

It's the lowest career percentage on the active roster among those who attempted at least 26 3-pointers. Still, Bosh burned the Bucks on 3-of-4 in Game 1 of Miami's first-round sweep, helped draw Bulls center Joakim Noah away from the basket (4-of-8) in the second round, and drained 8-of-16 against the Pacers despite notching four consecutive single-digit point outings.

"The last guys you want shooting it is Ray or Mike,'' said Pacers guard Danny Green. "You have to give up something. The percentages say you give it up to a big man, even though [Bosh] shoots it like a guard.''

Allen, the NBA's all-time leading 3-point sharpshooter in the regular season and playoffs, made 3-of-4. Miller has a 40.6 career mark, excluding last year's epic 7-of-11 3-point outburst in the Game 5 title clincher against the Thunder.

'They could give it to me, I'll take any open shot,'' a defiant Bosh said. "I'm not going to compromise my whole body of work off one series or one game or a half a season. Sometimes you're going to miss shots. … I have to have confidence and the know-how to let it go and move on to the next possession and next shot.''

Bosh, who had 13 points, admitted he recently began hoisting more threes from the top of the key and angled "wing" versus the shorter baseline trifecta.

"I'm still trying to get into the flow of when to take them and when not to,'' said Bosh, who attempted a career-high 74 3-pointers this season

Dwyane Wade, whose paltry career 3-point percentage of 28.9 is slightly better than his close friend's, is a Bosh believer.

"I'm sure Chris will find his way of being who Chris Bosh, what we've became accustomed to,'' Wade said. "It's just trying to do this offense that's a little different than last year and the year before that. He's just trying to figure it out.

"I don't want him to think that him being great is just him scoring the basketball. Chris can do so many other things for us. … So I hope he has erased it out his mind.''

Battier's slump

Slumping forward Shane Battier has lost most of his rotation minutes to Miller, having played in just 10 minutes over the last three games compared to Miller's 49, largely in part to his vanishing 3-point shot.

Battier, who led the Heat with 42 made 3's in last year's championship run, has made just 14 of 61 (23 percent) in the postseason, including 0-for-3 Thursday.

"It's basketball, ups and downs, peaks and valleys,'' said Battier, a career 38.7 percent 3-point shooter, including a career-high 43 percent this season. "I try to stay steady and stay with your routine.

"I'm like a golfer. They never watch their swing. I don't like to watch myself shoot. You can't determine from film what's wrong. A shot is in your soul. I know when it's clicking and when it's not. It actually feels pretty good right now, so it's coming.''